Publications

Biosimilars were first approved for use in the United States in 2015. With a growing number of available biosimilar products and a need to decrease the costs associated with prescription drugs, are biosimilars on track to deliver the savings promised? What role do payers and providers play in advancing broader adoption of biosimilars as a safe and effective treatment? Read key takeaways from the virtual discussion and view the recording!

Greater adoption of biosimilars is one path to driving down drug costs in the United States. Effectively increasing uptake will require collaboration between all segments of the health care system. Regence health plans are leading the industry in biosimilars utilization with 95 percent adoption, thus reducing specialty drug spend by $30 million since 2019.

With the cost of prescription drugs on the rise, specialty drugs that treat the most severe conditions and illnesses are no exception. We explore the importance of cost control strategies to acquire specialty drugs and how some health care providers are aiming to remove these strategies to increase their revenue margins.

The RHPC team sponsored and attended the 2022 Oregon State of Reform Health Policy Conference, bringing together stakeholders from across the region to discuss the most important topics facing the state.

Copay coupons—the solution for the unreasonable cost of specialty medications or a carefully crafted trojan horse disrupting affordability in our health care system?

In 2018, Oregon passed a law creating the Oregon Prescription Drug Price Transparency program. The program has been able to provide policymakers, consumers and stakeholders across healthcare with information about the one of the most complicated areas in health care- pharmaceuticals. We spoke with Oregon DCBS Director, Andrew Stolfi, to discuss the Prescription Drug Price Transparency Program and the newly created Prescription Drug Affordability Board.

We are living in a new “golden age” of prescription drug innovation. Over the last several years, advancements in biologics, as well as the development of cell and gene therapies offer tremendous promise for extending people’s quality of life and even curing debilitating diseases. The downside is that these are among the most expensive drug therapies on the market with more to come.

How does the Inflation Reduction Act affect Medicare prescription drug prices? In this article, we discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will make historic changes to the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, prescription drug pricing.

Last week, the RHPC team sponsored and attended NASHP's 35th Annual Conference held in Seattle, WA. After the event convened over 750 policymakers across the country, we discuss the three themes that emerged from the conference.